In a groundbreaking new study at the University of California, San Francisco, scientists found that older adults improved cognitive controls such as multitasking and the ability to sustain attention by playing a specially designed videogame — and that the effects can be long lasting.

The study, to be published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, is part of a broader effort to understand whether specially designed videogames can help treat neurological disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even depression. There is growing evidence, researchers say, that videogames could eventually become therapies on par, or used in tandem, with ingestible medications.

The new study “is a powerful example of how plastic the older brain is,” said Adam Gazzaley, a director of the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center and a co-author of the study. Gazzaley is also the co-founder and advisor of Akili Interactive Labs, a start-up focused on designing these types of videogames. Read More »